That’s because this is the time of year that students and their families must pick a college by sorting through letters of acceptance and financial aid award letters.

This means families will need to determine how to pay for their child’s education.

“Unfortunately, financial aid information is often jargon-filled and unique to the institution sending it,” said the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. “This can make it difficult for families to understand costs, evaluate loan options and figure out how much debt to take on.”

It’s more important than ever that families compare college costs and weigh their options carefully, given how much student loan debt has ballooned.

“Student loan debt has crossed the $1 trillion mark, and tuition continues to climb,” said Richard Cordray, director of the consumer bureau. “Now more than ever, students and their families need to know before they owe.”

In Emma Hair’s case, financial prudence by her parents helped make her college choice rather simple.

Emma, 17, a senior at Coppell High School, was accepted at five colleges before picking the University of North Texas, her top choice.

While she was offered financial aid by the four out-of-state schools, they offered “just enough money to get it to where it would be in-state tuition, but they didn’t give anything over and above that,” said Emma’s mother, Deborah Hair.

What put UNT over the top was a $3,250-a-year scholarship it awarded Emma. That, coupled with her parents’ investments in the Texas Tuition Promise Fund, the state’s prepaid tuition plan, will enable Emma to pay for her education with no out-of-pocket costs — and no student loans.

“We had saved up enough money in the Texas fund for her to go to school, but because she got the scholarship, that just really benefits her,” Hair said.

If you and your student are still weighing offers from different colleges, here’s what you need to know:

Ignore sticker price

The sticker price is the published tuition, room and board rate for the school, said Kevin Walker, chief executive of SimpleTuition, a website that has information on financing college.

“The sticker price is not the right place to start because as the financial aid award will outline, other kinds of aid from the school or from the federal government will cause the sticker price to quickly become irrelevant,” he said.

Also, there are costs not covered by financial aid that you need to consider and compare.

“At first blush, many might think the college with the lowest tuition is the least expensive, but it is not that simple,” said Thomas Murphy, a certified financial planner at Murphy & Sylvest LLC in Dallas.

There are also textbooks, miscellaneous fees such as lab fees, laundry and meals not on the meal plan, he said.

“This does not include expenses associated with getting to the college and back,” Murphy said. “Your child will probably come home more often than you think, particularly the first year.”

Dissect the aid

The financial aid award letter provides prospective and current students with information about the college’s true costs and the aid available to help the student pay those costs.

“To compare financial aid award letters from different colleges, compare them based on the out-of-pocket cost,” says Fastweb.com, a college financing information website.

Also known as the “net price,” this is the difference between the total cost of attendance and the total gift aid — such as grants, scholarships, and tuition and housing waivers — that doesn’t need to be repaid.

The cost of attendance includes tuition and required fees, room and board, books, supplies, transportation, personal expenses, dependent care and possibly student health insurance and the cost of a computer.

“Focus on the net price when evaluating college costs,” said Mark Kantrowitz, publisher of Fastweb.com and FinAid.org. “It’s a better measure of your bottom-line costs, the amount of money you will have to pay from savings, income and loans to cover college costs.”

The difference in out-of-pocket costs can be big enough to influence your choice. Fastweb gives this rule of thumb as guidance:

“If the difference in out-of-pocket cost is less than $500, the difference is not significant enough to affect the choice of college. But if the difference is greater, especially if it is more than $5,000, the family should consider the out-of-pocket cost along with other criteria when choosing a college.”

Ask questions

As you’re evaluating your options, don’t hesitate to ask college financial aid administrators for more details. Here are questions Fastweb suggests that could have a significant impact on your evaluations:

How do you appeal for more financial aid if the aid award is insufficient or your family’s financial circumstances have changed?

What is the college’s outside scholarship policy? How does the college reduce the need-based financial aid package when a student wins a private scholarship? Does the scholarship reduce the loan and work burden or does it replace the college’s grants and scholarships?

How many hours do you need to work to earn the full work-study award you’ve been offered? How much will you be paid per hour? Are work-study jobs readily available, or are they hard to get?

Kantrowitz also suggests asking the college if it practices “front-loading of grants,” where the amount offered in the first year is greater than that offered in subsequent years. This may make the college look cheaper than it actually is, he said.

“Can students expect to receive a similar amount of grants in subsequent years, assuming their financial circumstances are similar?” Kantrowitz said. “If the college practices front-loading of grants, how much will the grants change each year?”

These are all critical questions that will help you make a critical decision with long-lasting implications.

So take a really hard look at what each school is offering and make sure the financial aid will meet your full financial need for all four years of your child’s college life.

If you can help it, you don’t want your child to be mired in student loan debt when he or she graduates.

“Higher out-of-pocket costs lead to a greater debt and work burden, potentially affecting college success and potentially increasing the chances of graduating with excessive debt,” according to Fastweb. “The amount of education debt has an impact on further education, career choices and lifestyle after graduation.”

Follow Pamela Yip on Twitter at @pamelayip.

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